Eat: Recommended Restaurants

Cradle of civilization

By James P. Reza

Elections, wars...thankfully, all we do at Eat is focus on short-term satisfaction, and critical on Maslow's hierarchy is food and drink. While global attention remains on that California-sized cradle known as Iraq (Ha! You thought we were going to say Florida!), we've broadened our list to include the general area of the Mediterranean Sea, northern Africa and the Middle East, as the cuisine of each share similarities in composition and ingredients.

Habib's Persian Cuisine

4750 W. Sahara Ave.; 870-0860

$-$$; Smart Casual

One of the city's few upscale Middle Eastern restaurants, Habib's serves what most consider the best Mideast cuisine. Located in a Californiate complex, the atmosphere is comfortable and tasteful. The menu, which includes expected borani, hummus, tabouleh and kabobs, also offers daily specials like Koresht Fesenjan (pomegranate-marinated chicken with crushed walnuts). An adjoining market features ingredients for your own home-cooked version.

Al Basha

3969 S. Maryland Parkway; 699-7155

$; Casual

A small, casual storefront in the university district, Al Basha offers inexpensive and expected college-style fare of Greece, Lebanon, Persia. The falafel is considered by some to be superior to others in the neighborhood, but the kabobs--including a vegetable option--are the menu faves.

Cafe Tajine

101 Montelago Blvd.; 567-1234

$$; Casual/Smart Casual

Lake Las Vegas is quite a distance to go for a meal, but maybe not when it is Moroccan-inspired food served with a view like this. Located in the Hyatt Regency, Tajine is a comfortable, upscale room serving refined north African cuisine, including meals in the restaurant's namesake earthenware container. Dine indoors or outside overlooking the pools and lake.

Gyro Time

5239 W. Charleston Blvd.; 878-6393

7660 W. Cheyenne Ave.; 658-9729

$; Casual

This Las Vegas institution recently opened a northwest location, but we'll stick with the original on West Charleston, where two generations of lunching clock-punchers have satiated the midday pangs with a tasty gee-ro. Juicy rotisserie beef and lamb is stuffed inside a fresh-baked pita pocket and slathered in tzatziki (cucumber) dressing. The falafel pita is also fresh and very good.

Honey Tree Cafe

7121 W. Craig Road; 839-3333

$; Casual

Located in the bustling northwest, Honey Tree may try too hard to be all things to all casual diners. The menu includes many traditional American choices--burgers, breakfast, hot dogs (!)--but we're here for the gyros, tabouleh and moussaka. The mixed menu presents its downfalls, but the prices are right, and it's the only place for miles serving this cuisine.

Marrakech

3900 Paradise Road; 737-5611

$$; Smart Casual/Trendy

Considered by some to be too touristy to be taken seriously, the Moroccan Marrakech nevertheless takes itself very seriously. All diners are fed the same six-course meal (soup, salad plate, lamb and fowl; vegetarians should mention so at the time of reservation) while seated cross-legged on floor pillows and eyeing the talented belly dancers.

Todd English's Olives

3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 693-7223

$$; Smart Casual/Trendy

Once an exercise in European artistic whimsy, a recent remodel revealed a snazzy Jeffrey Beers-designed interior of wood and distressed leather reflecting the modern, clubby style so popular these days. Expect a revamped menu as well, though not straying far from English's popular takes on pan-Mediterranean cuisine. Enjoy positively delicious wood-fired flatbreads, delightful salads (the Greek is one of the city's best) and a deep entree list of seabass, salmon and the like.

Paymon's Mediterranean Café

4147 S. Maryland Parkway; 731-6030

8380 W. Sahara Ave.; 702-731-6030

$-$$; Casual/Smart Casual

Before the local palate appreciated ethnic dining, Paymon Raouf was serving tasty tabouleh and fab falafel to the college crowd. As the city sophisticated, so went the Cafe, adding a Hookah Lounge (with full bar) and expanding the hours and menu. Lunch tables are prime real estate, dinner crowds pleasantly hip and articulate, with a casual sophistication hard to find in Vegas.

Pita Place

3429 S. Jones. Blvd.; 221-9955

$; Casual

Inexpensive and delicious, the Pita Place--located in a converted old-style Taco Bell--is the kind of ethnic dining other cities sport in spades. Considered one of the city's largely undiscovered gems, the unassuming Pita Place serves delicious Middle Eastern salads, kabobs and falafel, and offers all of its food for take-out.

Sultan's Grill

1910 Village Center Circle; 838-3221

$; Casual

Located in a shopping center across from the Summerlin Performing Arts Center, Sultan's Grill is a tiny, semi-fast food eatery that combines counter service and disposable utensils with a spartan but nice decor, city-style. The falafel is fried fresh to order, and the owners go out of their way to please everyone.

Native Las Vegan James P. Reza is the dining editor of the 2004 Zagat Survey: Las Vegas. Haven't seen your fave nosh joint listed? Tip him off at jpreza@cox.net.